The Story of Stanley-
So there he was sitting in the small conference room… We have all been there as managers or employees. There are many reasons to be there:
- Our boss wants to meet with us
- We need to meet with a team member
- Performance is a problem
- There is an issue…
He closed his eyes and waited for his team member. Stanley had been to see the accounts of his problem person at the request of the clients. Stanley had pulled his team member into meetings to help him get organized repeatedly. Stanley has had complaints from other team members about performance. There were official write ups and hour long phone call that were not on the record.
Sound familiar? Are you Stanley? The 80/20 rule is in full force with this employee. There are many interpretations of this rule. F. John Reh discusses the 80/20 rule on About. ”Pareto’s Principle, the 80/20 Rule, should serve as a daily reminder to focus 80 percent of your time and energy on the 20 percent of you work that is really important. Don’t just “work smart”, work smart on the right things.”
Work on Smart things! Smart Things! Like the 10 other team members Stanley did not have time to talk with for two weeks as he was on-site trying to save the problem employee’s clients. He thought back to the first time he realized his team member was going to be difficult. There were so many things Stanley wanted to say….
Could we focus our attention in a better place?
Here is the meeting Stanley wished he could have had:
“We have a problem and the problem is you. You are not getting the job done and if you do not step up, we will fire you. Your lack of attention to detail and continued denial that you are the problem is dragging down the entire team. I have spent most of my employee management energy on you and your problems while neglecting the people on this team who are doing a great job and deserve my attention. If we have any further issues, you are gone. ”
Leaders cannot do that- some do- but more often than not that type of leadership is not effective. What we as managers need to realize is that when we decide it is time to make a change with a problem team member; the ripples of positive change are going to be huge.
You could hire another employee with a better attitude for less than your problem person was making- You could use the difference in salary to reward the members of the team that were working hard. By eliminating a poor performer you show the team that mediocrity is not tolerable. Remember that when you make a change like this you save the company’s relationship with your clients, allowing you to keep the best team members on staff because you maintain your revenue. You are now free to meet with your best employees to work on making them better and not trying so hard to fit a square peg in a round hole.
Managers need to focus on those that can be saved. This type of management will make the difference in how you help your team, reward your best employees and grow a world class organization.
Andrew:
While I would agree with you that making sure the “right people are on the bus” is a critical role, I respectfully disagree that it is the key role of leadership. I think what you describe is effective management.
I see management and leadership as being related, but not the same.
Leadership in my mind is about creating organizational clarity. The leader’s role is to craft the vision for the organization and be able to articulate that in a way that connects and resonates with people.
Management’s job is to clarify that on a personal level for each employee-
” your role in accomplishing our goals is X” Or “your assignment fits into the larger picture this way”
Managers remove the ambiguity for people at a personal level.
You are absolutely right that getting the right people doing the rights things is critical.
I also reccommend in giving feedback that we focus factually and make sure the consequences are clear. I try to avoid words like you or I. I prefer to talk about behaviors or actions. It feels more objective and less attacking.
This is great insight. I would agree that management and leadership often overlap. I see leadership as a needed portion of the manger’s toolbox. Many managers do not have the skills they need to lead their team in tough decisions.
Making a change in your team requires true leadership. Although I have not gotten into the topics of the back-end decisions and the handling of the fallout and communication of a decision to terminate an employee, I do see that managers need to be empowered and lead their team by making difficult decisions.
Are you saying that managers do not lead through most of the decisions they make? I see your point, but there is so much overlap between effective management and acting as a leader- I am not sure where the line is easily drawn.
Andrew,
You describe above “the meeting I wish we could have had” and explain that “leaders cannot do that” because “that type of leadership is not effective.” I disagree. While there are times when it’s not appropriate, we would often do better to be that candid with our employees. It’s better for them, for us, and for the other employees who get more of the boss’s time and attemtion.
Great article – and I loved the cartoon.
Great discussion! It was brought to my attentions that this subject hits a little close to home for some… I want to be clear that I am blogging about topics and situations- sometimes these are rooted in personal experience- more often than not- I am simply trying to spark conversation.
That being said- I am hearing the group loud and clear. There appears to be a blurry line between leadership and management and quite a few people believe this is management at the core. I happen believe that a leader must make hard decisions and lead the team by showing they are willing to work with others to achieve the goals of the group, but eventually do what is best for everyone.
How many managers have received formal training in the process of personnel selection? The problem begins when you don’t hire the best person. True, you can inherit problem employees. When that happens, it is best to address the issue quickly. Your team will admire quick action and respect you for it. Managers need to educate themselves on proper employee selection. It is best to avoid rather than remedy a team member that is not performing.
I have been bad at training my team in the past. I am working hard to get them up to speed on how to deal with people. The truth is that the more time our firm spends up front in the hiring process, the less issues we have. It slows down hiring, but turnover is not getting us either.